Airline News and Commentary

Kingfisher and Deccan to Merge

For you India airline buff(s): Kingfisher and Deccan will merge into a combined carrier called Kingfisher Airlines though, confusingly, short-haul A320 flights will be branded as Deccan while longer flights will be branded at Kingfisher (Deccan is modeled after Ryanair, whereas Kingfisher offers a premium product). One major benefit of the merger is that the Indian government requires that an airline be flying for 5 years before it can fly overseas — Kingfisher has A380s on order and this acquisition will allow it to meet that requirement.

This is the 3rd airline merger in India this year, with Air Sahara & Jet Airways tying up while the government merged together Air India and Indian Airlines in August.